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US/Mexico Border Women Hold Hunger Strike in Front of the White House November 13th, 2010
Eleven women from El Paso and Ciudad Juarez are holding a hunger strike in front of the White House to raise awareness of the US-Mexico border issues. The November 8th to 17th hunger strike aims to develop public awareness about the lives of women and families affected by the violence, poverty and unemployment in Juarez and El Paso. The women are calling on federal decision-makers to look beyond short-sighted border security initiatives and instead, establish long-term strategies to support community-led development of the nation’s poorest region.
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Story of Electronics Video Now Available! November 10th, 2010
E-Waste in Indonesia
Annie Leonard, the creator of the popular Story of Stuff video series, has released a new, short film – on the electronics that we all use every day. “Planned obsolescence” – now called “shortening the replacement cycle” – takes a huge toll on the environment, one we can no longer sustain.
Industry analysts anticipate Americans spending more than $8.5 billion on consumer electronics this month alone. While this may seem good for the economy, making all these products exacts an enormous environmental and public health toll.
Mining the metals destroys the environment in communities from Congo to Indonesia – often fueling conflict along the way. Assembling the gadgets uses huge amounts of water and energy and exposes workers to a host of toxic chemicals. Then, once we decide to move to the next, newer, better model, we leave behind mountains of old electronics — what’s called e-waste. A recent UN report notes that global e-waste generation is growing by about 40 million tons a year.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Watch The Story of Electronics to find out why and how we need to adopt the mantra of “Make them Safe, Make them Last, and Take them Back.”
Mentoring Students in Social Justice Work November 1st, 2010
Fr. Daniel Renaud, omi is interested in developing a program for students to learn about social justice work by engaging with people at the grassroots or through issue advocacy. If you are an Oblate involved in social justice work, he would like to connect with you to discuss the possibility of a student coming to work with you for a period of time.
Father Renaud is Chaplain at St. Paul University in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. He has recently been named chair of the Canadian Catholic Campus Ministry Association. This association, mandated by the Conference of Canadian Bishops, supports campus ministry in promoting the mission of the Catholic Church.
Fr. Daniel Renaud has been the Chaplain at Saint Paul University since 2004. His email is: drenaud@ustpaul.ca The University website is www.ustpaul.ca
Fr. Renaud explains his idea in this interview with the Oblate US JPIC Office Watch the video:
End Violence Against Migrants at the US/Mexico Border October 29th, 2010
Last August, seventy two Central and South Americans migrants were brutally massacred after resisting their kidnappers’ extortion attempts and demands to work for them as smugglers. It was the worst mass killing in Mexico, and among the dead were teens and a pregnant woman. Religious groups and human rights organizations have always been concerned about violence against migrants at the border. Unfortunately, this news is not reported on enough by the news media.
The Obama Administration should engage Mexico on the prevention of migrant deaths. President Obama has the power to push for changes in U.S. policies that would prevent the exploitation and death of migrants, but concerned citizens need to call on him to act.
TAKE ACTION TODAY
The Oblate JPIC office, in collaboration with our coalition partners in the Border Working Group, is calling on you to take action to end violence against migrants:
Click here to ask President Obama to end violence against migrants at the U.S./Mexico border.
Reflection on the Rescue of the Chilean Miners October 26th, 2010
Renee Yann is a Sister of Mercy and VP for Mission and Values at Mercy Keystone Health Plan in Philadelphia. She wrote this reflection in anticipation of the rescue of the Chilean Miners, which we wanted to share with you.
Dear Friends and Co -ministers,
Last night and today, the world’s thoughts and prayers are even more closely focused on a small town in Chile where thirty-three men have been trapped deep in the darkness of the earth.
One by one, over the course of the forty-eight hours, these men will be delivered to light, resurrected to the life they left, unsuspecting, one morning over two months ago. They will be extracted from the earth through a passageway barely shoulder-wide. Like any birth, each of their transitions will be accompanied by that strange mix of agony and hope that yields new life. And with each one of them, we will experience vicariously what it means to be reborn.
On a brilliant October days such as these, when even the leaves seem made of sunshine, we might more deeply appreciate the longing of the Chilean miners to return to the light. Each of us, at sometime in our lives, has spent time beneath the surface of life. Perhaps we have known the darkness of depression, bereavement, addiction, mental illness or economic desperation in ourselves or those we love. Time spent in the cavern of these burdens is exponentially longer than normal time. We expend enormous amounts of energy looking for a way out, until we finally abandon ourselves to the realization that the only way “out” is “through”.
Over these hours, these miners will complete their passage “through”. As each one comes back to his family, let us thank God with them. And may we use the time as a meditation and thanksgiving for our own passages, whether completed or on-going. May we use it as a time of prayer for our world that we may be delivered from war, poverty, tyranny, terrorism and selfishness. Whether or not these men knew it, our Creator has held their hands through the weeks of suffering. God will rise with them in the narrow cage of their deliverance. And God is always with us as we are continually born to newness in our own lives. Today, as we watch the newsreels, holding our breath in anticipation, remember the One Who is always holding your hand.
Blessings,
Sister Renee
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Renee Yann, RSM
